Okay so I know those of you who are coming to my blog looking for cutting political commentary and academic works are probably not too interested in what I have to say about my beloved Raiders. Well, this is my blog so I can write about whatever the hell I want!!
MY RAIDERS GOT A WIN TODAY!!! I was on the edge of my sweat, cursing Tom Cable and the pathetic offensive playcalling but we STILL WON!! And we beat Brett Favre and the Jets! I was jumping up and down in my living room. Now, here’s my impressions of the game:
We won that game mostly because of great defensive effort. Sure, we did give up ALOT of yards on the ground, but it was still great defensive effort. We got key turnovers, we stopped the Jets on key 3rd Downs, and we got a bit of pressure on Favre. Our defense had totally collapsed in the 4th quarter against the Bills and Chargers and then completely melted down against the Saints, but they pulled it together this week. Maybe bringing in Hiram Eugene to replace Huff wasn’t such a bad idea! Offensively I felt like Jamarcus was intentionally limited by the playcalling, and maybe too much. In overtime we got a big gainer by doing play-action and then throwing down the middle of the field…if that had been a fly or deep post route instead of a square-in, I think that play might have scored. I’m not saying Jamarcus should take shots down the field all the time, but late in a game when we’ve been running and running and running, I think we can afford to let Russell air it out. I’m just saying. We ran the ball well inside the tackles, I don’t know why the hell they kept calling sweeps and pitchouts and stretch plays….we lost yardage on nearly every single one. Our offense was pretty bad, I won’t lie. But we managed to score more points than the other team (we just needed an extra quarter) so I guess they weren’t TOO bad! Special teams played great, from Alston’s fake punt run to Lechler dropping those coffin corner punts to Seabass nailing the 57-yarder in OT…good game by our special teams! But overall….we were penalized waaay to much for stupid shit! Kwame Harris had, what, FIVE false starts???!?! Unacceptable. Really, if you look at the stats, it’s amazing that we even won! But we did!!
Anyway, for those who don’t know, I’m boycotting the Raiders because of Al Davis’ idiotic decisions and I stand by my boycott even after this win. It’s not about Lane Kiffin or Tom Cable or any player or coach, it’s about Al Davis, who has gone from being a maverick owner to just being an ass. He feels he’s bigger than the team, the fans and the league and he just plain is not. That’s why I still love and support my Raiders, I’m not going to let Al Davis chase me away from the team I’ve loved since my youth. But I’m not going to put any money in his pockets, either. And one win is not going to change that. Now, if the Raiders go on a run and end up in the playoffs, maybe I’ll change my mind. But I think this win, as good as it feels, is not going to open the door to another great era of winning Raider football. We’re going to be a mess as long as Al Davis is in charge, bottom line.
Here’s a clip of that winning kick, in case you didn’t see it:
